The extractor on my new kimber ultra elite broke. I was firing WIN clean 230 gr. and half way through the box I manually fed one round through the chamber and release the slide. Few clips later, the gun would not exctract the empty casing. Shall I send the slide, the whole gun, or just order the extractor and install it myself.
KIMBER EXTRACTOR BROKE ! HELP ?
- Thread starter chaho
- Start date
Chaco,
One should always load a round into the magazine and then rack the slide and never load into the chamber directly. . When you place a round directly into the chamber and let the slide push it in the extractor works in a way it was not designed to work and places undue stress on it. It should not override the cartridge rim but the cartridge should slip under the extractor as it does when feed from a magazine. This is especially important when you are talking about those cheap MIM parts
I would install a Wilson extractor myself and see if it worked.
One should always load a round into the magazine and then rack the slide and never load into the chamber directly. . When you place a round directly into the chamber and let the slide push it in the extractor works in a way it was not designed to work and places undue stress on it. It should not override the cartridge rim but the cartridge should slip under the extractor as it does when feed from a magazine. This is especially important when you are talking about those cheap MIM parts
I would install a Wilson extractor myself and see if it worked.killer45auto
New member
skeeter is correct in that the extracter is not designed to do that,ditto for the glock it will break also eventually.also most guns are not ever designed to do that as you should always feed off the mag .
Gee,there's a surprise----
If the gun is for target shooting or fun,the Kimbers,Baers,Wilsons,so on and so forth ad nauseum, are great.
If the gun is for defense,please get a Sig,Glock,or Beretta.
Hopefully,the plunger tube did not fall off when you took the grip panels off.
In a doo-doo storm,you just might have to chamber a round without a mag---who knows?
If the gun is for target shooting or fun,the Kimbers,Baers,Wilsons,so on and so forth ad nauseum, are great.
If the gun is for defense,please get a Sig,Glock,or Beretta.
Hopefully,the plunger tube did not fall off when you took the grip panels off.
In a doo-doo storm,you just might have to chamber a round without a mag---who knows?
It is all very well to argue what the pistol was designed to do, but thousands of real Model 1911 and 1911A1s have been loaded just that way and have not broken extractors. The extractor should be able to flex enough to allow it, and properly made ones do just that.
Jim
Jim
Ah, more anti-1911 baloney. etc, I will bet you that for every 1911 horror story you can dig up I can come up with one for a Glock, SIG, etc...
And you might want to think about the dozens of manufacturers and millions of 1911s made in the last 80 years or so...what would the track record of Glock, Beretta, SIG, etc be if there had been as many of THEM manufactured by as many different companies?
And you might want to think about the dozens of manufacturers and millions of 1911s made in the last 80 years or so...what would the track record of Glock, Beretta, SIG, etc be if there had been as many of THEM manufactured by as many different companies?
Geez guys, give it a rest okay. Let's not turn this into another Kimber vs. the world, Glock vs. 1911 thread.
Chaho,
The plain fact is that you improperly loaded a round into the chamber and you broke the extractor. This will happen on *any* 1911, or any other pistol for that matter. I don't care how many times you've done it in the past it only takes once. Don't blame the gun on your mistake. Any manual on the 1911 will tell you not to do this.
From Bill Wilsons book The Combat Auto pg 38:
"To drop a round in the and let the slide ram home risks snapping off the extractor hook as well as playing havoc with the extractor tension."
Anyone want to claim the old Bill doesn't know what he's talking about?
I'd try the cheapest fix first. Get a new extractor and replace it yourself and see if that works. If it doesn't then go from there. Just get it fixed and don't do it again.
Chaho,
The plain fact is that you improperly loaded a round into the chamber and you broke the extractor. This will happen on *any* 1911, or any other pistol for that matter. I don't care how many times you've done it in the past it only takes once. Don't blame the gun on your mistake. Any manual on the 1911 will tell you not to do this.
From Bill Wilsons book The Combat Auto pg 38:
"To drop a round in the and let the slide ram home risks snapping off the extractor hook as well as playing havoc with the extractor tension."
Anyone want to claim the old Bill doesn't know what he's talking about?
I'd try the cheapest fix first. Get a new extractor and replace it yourself and see if that works. If it doesn't then go from there. Just get it fixed and don't do it again.
One other danger not mentioned when chambering a round through the ejection port is the possibility of the slide being released prematurly and striking the primer before the round is in the chanber. The right rear of the ejection port juts out more than enough to act as a firing pin.
Big George
New member
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't believe the extactor on a Kimber is one of the MIM parts...
Just trying to keep the record straight!
Just trying to keep the record straight!
Allen_Raiford
New member
Chaho asked, "Shall I send the slide, the whole gun, or just order the extractor and install it myself?"
It would be cheaper to just order a new one from Wilsons, et. al., than to send the pistol back to the factory.
It would be cheaper to just order a new one from Wilsons, et. al., than to send the pistol back to the factory.
Brian Bilby
New member
George,
It is a MIM part. He shouldn't have dropped the slide on a chambered round, that's asking for problems. But when you have a substandard part in there to begin with it is a almost certainty that it will break. I have played with more Kimbers than most people have ever seen and the extractors tend to be too rigid and brittle from the MIM not cooling properly or the polymer not being totally sintered or they don't have a properly formed slot/hook area. Are all Kimber extractors junk? No. But a good number are not right either.
Best advice is to get a Wilson, Brown or Caspian extractor and replace it with that. Do not get another Kimber.
It is a MIM part. He shouldn't have dropped the slide on a chambered round, that's asking for problems. But when you have a substandard part in there to begin with it is a almost certainty that it will break. I have played with more Kimbers than most people have ever seen and the extractors tend to be too rigid and brittle from the MIM not cooling properly or the polymer not being totally sintered or they don't have a properly formed slot/hook area. Are all Kimber extractors junk? No. But a good number are not right either.
Best advice is to get a Wilson, Brown or Caspian extractor and replace it with that. Do not get another Kimber.
Big George
New member
Thanks Brian, for some reason I thought the extractor was one of the forged parts that would be an exception to the MIM standard. That's twice this year I've been wrong! (or been caught)
My new Springfield HiCap, and my newest Kimber both had "drop out" firing pin stops, so I replaced them with EGW Stops. I think you will agree that loose firing pin stops contribute to extractor problems...engagement and wear.
My new Springfield HiCap, and my newest Kimber both had "drop out" firing pin stops, so I replaced them with EGW Stops. I think you will agree that loose firing pin stops contribute to extractor problems...engagement and wear.
chaho---might want to contact Kimber. Maybe they fit the extractors on the series of guns you have. Also,in many cases,if you put in a drop in part you may void the warrenty.
rik---betcha cant!
Also, we are talking about the top of the line when we are discussing Baer,Wilson,Kimber Elite,and so on. I have owned,worked on,and sold in my shop many of these pistols. Some folks love them,some like other stuff. All I can tell you is that the law enforcement people here prefer Sigs,Glocks, or Berettas. I dont argue with them or consider them idiots,as their life may depend on their choice of handgun every day.
rik---betcha cant!
Also, we are talking about the top of the line when we are discussing Baer,Wilson,Kimber Elite,and so on. I have owned,worked on,and sold in my shop many of these pistols. Some folks love them,some like other stuff. All I can tell you is that the law enforcement people here prefer Sigs,Glocks, or Berettas. I dont argue with them or consider them idiots,as their life may depend on their choice of handgun every day.
etc, on the contrary, I KNOW I can.
As for law enforcement, the reason they have gone to DA guns is the political correctness factor of a non-cocked gun, as well as a mostly unfounded fear of liability and a false perception that training for use with a SA gun would be more complicated that that for a DA gun.
As for law enforcement, the reason they have gone to DA guns is the political correctness factor of a non-cocked gun, as well as a mostly unfounded fear of liability and a false perception that training for use with a SA gun would be more complicated that that for a DA gun.
Funny how 250 miles makes all the difference, etc! Here N. of Dallas, I know a LOT of cops and others who depend nearly exclusively on the 1911. Must be a regional thing. Or departmental, which pulls personal decision out of it.
At any rate, replacing an extractor is one of the single easiest tasks to do. I don't know if your Kimber has that Series '80 garbage in it like the Colts had. If so, a simple Series '80 drop in will work. If not, virtually anyone's extractor will work. It certainly is somewhat harder on your extractor to load the chamber without a magazine, but I've done it many times with no adverse effects. I do try to minimize it, though. (My 1911's a Series '80 Gold Cup.)
Sometimes, you get a bad part. It may be that you got an over-hardened one that was consequently too brittle. Who knows? It's easy to fix, and it's definitely not worth throwing the baby out with the bathwater over; Kimbers are fine pistols.
The 1911 vs. The World arguement has so completely been done.
L.P.
At any rate, replacing an extractor is one of the single easiest tasks to do. I don't know if your Kimber has that Series '80 garbage in it like the Colts had. If so, a simple Series '80 drop in will work. If not, virtually anyone's extractor will work. It certainly is somewhat harder on your extractor to load the chamber without a magazine, but I've done it many times with no adverse effects. I do try to minimize it, though. (My 1911's a Series '80 Gold Cup.)
Sometimes, you get a bad part. It may be that you got an over-hardened one that was consequently too brittle. Who knows? It's easy to fix, and it's definitely not worth throwing the baby out with the bathwater over; Kimbers are fine pistols.
The 1911 vs. The World arguement has so completely been done.
L.P.
heh,heh--
My guess is that the da handguns are used by law enforcement for several reasons. Reliability would be at the top of the list.
Political correctness is probably some where down the totem pole,but none of this is relovant when dealing with the guys who are 1911 fans. Like I have said before,thats why they make all kinds.
Long, I am in the hill country, a couple hours nw of San Antonio. Most of the guys around here have gone to the 357 Sig,like the DPS has. The testing and actual shooting results speak for themselves.
Some of the older guys like the 1911 or high power as they have used them for so long and have a lot of confidence in them.
To each his own--
My guess is that the da handguns are used by law enforcement for several reasons. Reliability would be at the top of the list.
Political correctness is probably some where down the totem pole,but none of this is relovant when dealing with the guys who are 1911 fans. Like I have said before,thats why they make all kinds.
Long, I am in the hill country, a couple hours nw of San Antonio. Most of the guys around here have gone to the 357 Sig,like the DPS has. The testing and actual shooting results speak for themselves.
Some of the older guys like the 1911 or high power as they have used them for so long and have a lot of confidence in them.
To each his own--